Pakistan rejects Afghan terror allegations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday rejected Afghan accusations suggesting Islamabad’s involvement in attacks in the Kunar province, suggesting terrorists in Afghanistan were, in fact, harbouring terrorism in Pakistan.“The fact is that the Pakistan’s armed forces have been attacked repeatedly by terrorists operating from the Afghan territory,” a statement released by the Foreign Office said. “We reject all baseless allegations.”The statement from the Foreign Office came in response to remarks from Afghanistan’s Defence Minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi who had alleged on Sunday that Pakistan’s military men in plain clothes had launched cross-border attacks that resulted in the killing of three Afghan National Army soldiers in the Kunar province.“It is with deep disappointment that we have seen the allegations by senior Afghan officials regarding Pakistani troops in civilian dress conducting attacks in areas of Kunar province... Our armed forces have acted only in self-defence, with maximum restraint and responsibility. We also expect the Afghan government to refrain from taking any action that may be detrimental to peace and stability on the border,” the FO said.The Foreign Office said that Pakistan is currently engaged in a major effort to address the scourge of terrorism. “We believe the unfounded allegations from the Afghan side not only vitiate the environment but also serve to undermine the efforts for constructive engagement between the two countries. For our part, we will neither be deterred from addressing the challenges at hand, nor from building a friendly and cooperative relationship with the people of Afghanistan.”